to buy my housing association home?

[wheredyaparklouissss]

House is worth £100,000. I pay £400/month in rent. I love my home and want to remain here forever. Would you buy it? Or keep renting? What are the advantages or disadvantages?

@healthadvice123

Using a single example to justify a failed policy...

If something cost the state 100bn and is sold for 70bn, is that a good thing?

That's money that could have been invested in the future.

And yes, private landlords, and the horrific system in which they operate - are appalling.

But you can't miss the irony that the sell off of state owned housing has added to this disaster of private landlords.

Longtimelurkerfinallyposts
Please don't buy it - leave it as social housing

Take no notice, you have a chance to buy it, go for it.
People telling you not to buy, are probably comfortable their own homes.Easy to take the moral high ground with someone else.
Give yourself that security OP.

^^ agreed take your chances when you have them. If not right to buy can you do right to acquire which is specifically for housing associations

I would buy it if you want to stay there. Otherwise you risk being pushed out of your home further down the line. For example when they brought in bedroom tax a lot of people had to leave their homes because they couldn’t cover the tax for the spare bedroom. Who knows what other taxes etc they might bring in later on! Or they could decide to get rid of your house from the social housing register and move you somewhere else. Certainly if your child leaves home they will try all ways to get you to vacate and move somewhere smaller. And then if your child wants to come back they can’t, and if you have grandkids there’s no room. If you become disabled they will try to force you to vacate and move to disabled adapted accommodation. If you have to leave home for an extended period eg to care for a sick family member they will take your house off you. So I would buy it just for stability to ensure your future.

...and do you know what they do with that 'profit'?

@wheredyaparklouissss i don’t realise understand why you’re on here asking. Investigate and make an adult decision. There are many of us who have no option but to privately and will unlikely own a home. You’re fortunate that you have had access to cheaper housing and then thrown in the opportunity to buy. It comes across as braggy tbh.

It's supposed to be social housing! If you can afford to buy I'm not sure why you remain entitled to it? Sorry, but this makes me so angry.

Agree! And the strange "out for me and mine only" attitude.

@Dunelmer hA stock is not state owned

@TiredButAlive but many can't afford to buy without the discount ? Thats the point

@Dunelmer avoided fhe question though , do you own your own home?
Home ownership in general is prob not always good for all but its ok for you

@itsjustnotok but life is often about luck so why should someone not buy a HA home because someone else can't
Goverments could of continued building council homes efc and used the money from the sale of older ones for more cost effective newer housing but successive goverments didn't and people were not shouting at them to do so ?
People talk such crap on here about people shouldn't be out for themselves when infact we all are to some degree
I guarantee nobody on here as turned down an opportunity because someone else can't access it
People strive to put children through private school or fight to get them in the best school
Take a promotion they dob't financially need as much as someone else
Ask your self honestly if you were in this position would you not?
Social housing etc is not as secure as it used to be and we are not allowed to do a lot to our homes now even if it improves it
I wasn't alllowed to install a patio in an uneven unusable garden for example
Any goverment could come in and change my lifetime tenancy or rules around it
In my time we have had numerous changes made and not all beneficial

There was talk at one point of charging full market rent to anyone over a certain income ( it wasn't a high income) for example
This would of meant many who do move out and buy couldn't and put lots more in poverty but according to some on here that would be ok as others are already in it, rather than pushing for more social housing and capping of private rents etc which would benefit everyone

OP ignore the people trying to make you feel guilty for thinking about buying it. I would buy one, in a heartbeat! Many things we do are inherently selfish, that is life!

@healthadvice123

Yes I own. I bought it from someone who wanted to sell, not from an organisation with stock designed to provide housing at subsidy to people who need to rent cheaply.

Do you want to pay more taxes to subsidise me to have more equity in it?

All these "HA isn't state housing stock" misses that HA benefit from state subsidy.

Some things are getting better held for future generations... Or people who need subsidised rent in the future.

You can't complain about the state of private rental market whilst supporting a policy that removes subsidised rents...

@healthadvice123 i haven’t said OP shouldn’t. Im asking why she needs Mumsnet to help her make a decision in relation to something she has been fortunate to have had. She’s had cheaper rent and now has the opportunity to buy. She doesn’t need us to make the decision for her. (Sorry assuming OP is a she). There are thousands without access to cheap(ish) housing and OP coming on here is unnecessary. Like I said OP should weigh up options and make a decision like an adult, no need to publicise.

@Dunelmer but not all HA do get state subsidy
Maybe your house was bought from someone who benefited from buying a council house years ago or our taxes subsidised the mortgage lender / bank
Its very much a case with people like you being im alright jack but criticising anyone else who does the same

What's the difference to social housing stock if OP stays there until she dies or buys it and stays there until she dies🤷🏻
It's many many decades until that happens. By that time situation will be different.

Buy it

@itsjustnotok they were asking for advice is it worth it as their are pro's and cons
We have no idea of the area they are in to know how much cheaper they are getting it
My rent is cheaper by about £150 a month than private if i was to buy i would get £10000 iff not small figures but not as huge as some people think either
In some areas some will save hundreds whilst in other areas only a little cheaper

@Pothoswithasparkle the difference is the HA could use the money towards building a new property so therefore another home becomes available in a year or so as opposed to decades

I'm not socialist at the behest of my own security anymore

In other words you're "socialist" only when it suits - just like so many others

The practical considerations are
Can you afford both the mortgage and repairs? Including service contracts and safety checks?
Are you reasonably confident that you will be able to support yourself in future without the need to rely in means tested benefits?
Are you living in a house rather than a flat?
If the answer to all 3 is yes then it would make sense to buy your home, as you clearly like living there.

No this is the problem. They let so many people buy their CH & HA houses that there is pretty much none left!

For goodness sake, buy it. It makes no sense to pay rent forever. It's not your job to look out for other potential tenants. Your job is to secure your and your family's future.

Afford to buy? Are you for real?

My DH bought a council flat. It was £110 a week rent. Valued £70k and with the right to buy discount he paid £25k. His mortgage was £228 a month for 10 years. He couldn't afford NOT to buy it. He would have been insane to choose to pay 100% more for his housing. And we are lucky that our council absolutely DO reinvest in more housing and they have built and rented 60 + new homes in the last 2 years. We also don't have long waiting lists, you can get a 1 bed flat in a matter weeks, and a 2-3 bed house in 4-6 months if you aren't picky. Ours is one of the cheapest places to buy in the NW too and the council often buys properties for sale privately then rents them out.

I hope all of the people outraged at the OP considering buying this house declined any money from wealthy parents including house deposits. Most cash rich boomers made money from property. Property prices which have been widely inflated because of neoliberal economics. Neoliberal economics underpins the lack of social housing. At least recognise you benefit from the whole system instead of preaching at those who could not in other circumstances afford to buy.